Tuscaloosa, AL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- License classification
- NAICS 453220/453310 Used Merchandise, PS-D
- Daily reporting deadline
- Before noon each business day
- Resale hold period
- 10 days from purchase
- Low-volume exemption
- 10 or fewer weekly transactions
- Minimum seller age
- 16 years old
Summary
Secondhand and junk dealers in Tuscaloosa hold a Used Merchandise business license and must report every transaction to the police chief daily, hold purchased goods for 10 days before resale, and never buy from anyone under 16, under Chapter 7, Article X.
(a)Reporting requirements. Every secondhand dealer within the city shall report to the chief of police in a manner and time as set out herein, a description of every secondhand good received by him on the previous business day. Reports shall be made every day except Sunday, before the hour of noon. Business done on Saturday shall be so reported before noon on the next Monday. ... It shall be unlawful for any secondhand dealer to sell or otherwise dispose of any secondhand goods, or permit any secondhand goods to be sold or otherwise disposed of, or remove or permit to be removed any secondhand goods from such person's place of business, or intermingle any secondhand goods with other secondhand goods, or to alter, change or deface... until after the expiration of ten (10) days from the date of the purchase or acquisition thereof, unless such person obtains permission in writing from the chief of police clearing the secondhand goods.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 102).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 7-160(a) defines "secondhand dealer" broadly as anyone licensed for "salvage yard, salvage dealer, waste disposal, or recycling" or otherwise engaged in buying, selling, trading, or bartering secondhand goods, licensed on the Sec. 7-18 schedule under "Used Merchandise" NAICS 453220/453310 at payment schedule D. Sec. 7-162(a) requires every secondhand dealer to report to the chief of police, before noon each business day, a description of every secondhand good received the previous day, with Saturday transactions reported by Monday noon. Sec. 7-162(b) generally requires that reporting to happen electronically, transmitted in a format the chief of police sets, though Sec.
7-162(c) exempts dealers averaging 10 or fewer weekly transactions from the computerized-reporting mandate if they file a signed declaration. Sec. 7-163(a) then bars a dealer from selling, disposing of, removing, intermingling, or altering any secondhand item until 10 days after it was purchased or acquired, unless the chief of police clears it in writing sooner; scrap gold, silver, and precious stones face the same 10-day hold and cannot be intermingled with other goods at all. Sec. 7-164 makes it unlawful to acquire secondhand goods from anyone under 16.
Sec. 7-165 keeps the storage premises open to police inspection during business hours, and a conviction for violating the article is grounds to revoke the dealer's business license under Sec. 7-167.
Violations & Fines
Reselling or altering secondhand goods before the 10-day hold in Sec. 7-163 expires (absent written police clearance) is unlawful, as is failing to file the required daily transaction report to the chief of police under Sec. 7-162. Buying from a person under 16 violates Sec. 7-164, and a violation conviction is grounds for business-license revocation under Sec. 7-167.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon can a Tuscaloosa secondhand dealer resell an item after buying it?
Do Tuscaloosa secondhand shops have to report their purchases to police?
Is there an exception to the electronic reporting requirement for small dealers?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tuscaloosa
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